Caught In A Bad Bromance: Broforce

"Mendoza!"

Steam Greenlight, Valve's attempt at involving the community in deciding which independent games see release on it's digital content platform has had its fair share of teething problems. That said, a fair few games have successfully been 'Greenlit' so far (although most have yet to see actual release), and among the most recent is Broforce, an absurd, retro-style shooter that takes its cues from 80's and 90's action movies, offering gamers a bulging, bicep-sized, steroid infused slice of mindless gun violence.

The huge explosions, destructible scenery, 8-bit graphics and strictly two dimensional physics call Team 17's original Worms to mind. Indeed, the primary appeal here is the same; the satisfaction of blowing huge holes in a pixellated landscape and sending hapless enemies flying across it.  Each short level's objective is to rescue all the hostages from your generic terrorist adversary's blocky clutches. Successful rescues offer you the chance to play as another 80's or 90's beefcake action hero with the word bro worked into his moniker somehow. Bro Hard, Bro Dredd, Rambro and The Brominator are just a few examples.

It's all amazing fun. Sure, kitsch, pre-millennial gaming throwbacks are ten a penny these days, but it's a trend that I don't think is going anywhere. Child gamers of yesteryear who've been waggling joysticks practically all their lives are now old enough to be susceptible to a little well placed nostalgia, and independent developers in particular are well positioned to meet the demand, as games based on low resolution pixel art are far quicker and cheaper to make than those that feature fully realized 3D worlds. The Broforce playable proof of concept (amusingly titled the 'Brototype') is available as a free download from developer Free Lives's website following the link below.  The game is currently without a firm release date, but I'd expect to see it before autumn is out.

http://www.freelives.net/broforce/